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Bruny Island fish find identified
A fish found floating in shallow water at Adventure Bay, Bruny
Island, will be the first of its type included in the CSIRO
Australian National Fish Collection (ANFC).
Fish Collection Manager, Mr Alastair Graham, said only three specimens
of the Crested Bandfish (Lophotus lacepede) have ever been identified
in Tasmanian waters. The two previous specimens were collected
near Burnie in 1884 and 1978.
Mr Tony Martyn, of Hobart holding the rarely sighted crested bandfish.
The bandfish was found by his daughter Ella Martyn in shallow water
at Adventure Bay, Bruny island in Southern Tasmania, and retrieved
in a metre of water by Jalicea Martyn, of Adventure Bay. (Photo Chris
Martyn)
Chris and Jenny Martyn, proprietors of the Captain
James Cook Memorial Caravan Park at Bruny Island, stored the specimen
in their freezer.
The Crested Bandfish is easily identified by its distinctive head,
which normally has a tall crest.
Mr Graham said the 1.1 metre specimen is normally oceanic, being
found between the surface and 100 metres depth. It occurs nearly
worldwide in warmer seas and feeds on small fishes (e.g. anchovies)
and squid.
The Crested Bandfish has a sac storing a dark ink-like fluid,
which is released via the anus, possibly as a protection against
predators. Other specimens have been collected in Victoria and
New South Wales.
"This is especially valuable because it is in such good condition
and will help us provide a stronger profile of this species in
Australian waters," he said.
The ANFC contains 150,000 specimens of mainly Southern Hemisphere
species forwarded by commercial and recreational fishers, fisheries
observers or collected by scientists on research vessels.
Mr Graham said CSIRO had received a number of calls from recreational
fishers following the Christmas-New Year break to identify unfamiliar
species.
"Although not common most were occasionally found in coastal
waters, including a couple normally resident in New South Wales.
"The Crested Bandfish, though, goes down as the find of the
season!" Mr Graham said. He encouraged people to contact either
him or their local museum, if they found or caught fish that they
could not identify.
More information on the CSIRO
Australian National Fish Collection (ANFC).
Chance finding rewards Collection
A chance sighting on December 23 by a Hobart family during a
Bruny Island beach walk was responsible for the inclusion of a
rare oceanic fish species in the CSIRO Australian National Fish
Collection.
Mrs Carolyn Martyn was walking with Ella and Alex Martyn at Adventure
Bay when they observed a silvery object in the water.
"Ella, Alex and I were walking on the beach when we sighted
the floating fish, vertical with just its eye and top part of
its head visible. It was only about five metres off the beach
and floating among the waves. At first I thought it was a sunfish," recalled
Mrs Martyn. The fish was retrieved from the water by Jalicea.
"We called the Caravan Park where my husband Tony was with
the camera and he came down to the beach with family members Chris
and Jenny Martyn.
With the long Christmas break ahead, that step contributed to
the preservation of the specimen and through her contacts with
the marine police, CSIRO subsequently confirm an identity deduced
from an internet fish identification web site - http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/spectype.htm
The result is that that Australian National Fish Collection now
has a valuable addition to its library - a Crested Bandfish.
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Last updated
9/01/07
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